PORTSMOUTH — If facts and figures won't get people's attention, maybe a nearly nude mermaid holding a sign that reads “Fish are Friends, Not Food” will.

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By Charles McMahon

seacoastonline.com

By Charles McMahon

Posted Mar. 31, 2011 at 4:18 PM
Updated Mar 31, 2011 at 10:25 PM

By Charles McMahon

Posted Mar. 31, 2011 at 4:18 PM
Updated Mar 31, 2011 at 10:25 PM

» Social News

PORTSMOUTH — If facts and figures won't get people's attention, maybe a nearly nude mermaid holding a sign that reads “Fish are Friends, Not Food” will.

That was the rationale for members of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, who on Thursday gathered on Congress Street to raise awareness on their fight to make fish off-limits from dinner plates. “Unfortunately, facts and figures usually aren't enough to get people's attention, but when they see a pretty mermaid they are naturally curious,” said PETA campaigner Lauren Stroyeck.

The demonstration was part of PETA's weeklong tour that has landed its members in places like Providence and Boston. Stroyeck said the event is being held in conjunction with Lent and aims to encourage people to “cut fish some slack.”

“People who are already leaving meat off their plates for religious reasons know that it's really no big sacrifice, so we're asking them to cut fish some slack, too,” Stroyeck said. “Fish might not be cute and cuddly, but when it comes to feeling pain and having a will to live, they're just like all other animals.”

Stroyeck said scientific studies show fish are “intelligent, sensitive animals who experience pain and fear when they are hooked or netted and pulled from the water.”

Having a semi-nude female dressed as a mermaid to promote the cause was simply a “really fun and upbeat way to get people to stop and listen,” she said.

Rye resident Marianne Pernold Young, one of many people who stopped to take pictures of the demonstration, was among the few who countered the group's claims. “We need to eat fish,” Young said. “It's part of a balanced meal. It's healthy, and there is nothing wrong with it.”

Young also challenged the group's claim that fishing fleets are killing the ocean and its animals, asserting that pollution had more to do with the decimation of the ocean than anything else.

Wearing little more than fins was Melissa Sehgal, a PETA member from Los Angeles. Sehgal, who has been a vegan for 11 years, said she didn't mind posing as a topless mermaid to encourage passersby to ditch fish. “This is a fun way to draw attention to fish,” she said. “They often get overlooked for cruelty to animals. This is extending the circle of compassion.”